MILDURA country band The Redlands are excited about joining the line-up for next year’s Back to Base festival.
Local boys Sam Nairn, Chase Williams, Dean Williams and Ottavio Dichiera are ready to put on a show for their home crowd.
The band said the opportunity to perform at Back to Base was “unexpected”.
“We heard the line-up and we were kind of overwhelmed by the chance to play,” Dichiera said.
“Jessica (Mauboy) is a huge name and we’ve only been playing for about almost a year now.
“It took a lot to settle in and be like ‘wow, this is happening’.”
The band have done quite a few shows around Australia but have not had much chance to play locally.
“It’s going to be our first official show in Mildura,” Chase Williams said. “We’ve done one little show at Slip Rocks Barber Shop but this is sort of our first big time gig in Mildura.
“We can’t wait to play in front of our home crowd.”
The band formed two years ago when Chase asked cousin Dean and Nairn to help him create a country album.
“We put together a song and then we were like we should do a few more and then it actually came into being like do you want to do it as a band full time?” Nairn said.
“We just worked from there.”
The band signed with Cheatin’ Hearts and Heartsville Music Group after deciding to pursue a music career.
They released their debut single in 2020 and have released three singles since. The latest, River, was released last month.
Dichiera said the festival came at the perfect time.
“It correlates with the release of our upcoming album (Sticks to Stones), which is fantastic.”
The debut album is expected to be released early in February and the band was excited about the chance to showcase the music at the festival.
The band said they hoped Back to Base could help grow a local following.
“We would love for Mildura to back us big time, that would be No.1,” Nairn said.
“(Performing) has been a lifelong dream for all of us,” Chase said. “It’s amazing to be able to get up in front of people and put on a good show and make people have a good time, that’s all we are aiming to do.
“If we can make someone happy then we are going to be absolutely stoked with it all.”
